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The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

Nissan will move Rogue output to U.S. plant

Nissan Motor Co. will shift production of one of its highest-volume vehicles, the Rogue crossover, from Japan to an American factory in a bid to cut its exposure to the high Japanese yen. Following the move, Nissan will build more than 100,000 Rogues a year at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant in 2013, when the vehicle is scheduled for a redesign.

Who's Where: Larry Erickson named Chair of Transportation Design at CCS

The College of Creative Studies (CCS) has named Larry Erickson as the Paul and Helen Farago Chair of Transportation. As chair, Erickson will lead the College's Transportation Design department, a role previously occupied by Bryon Fitzpatrick who retired in the summer of 2007. Mark West has led the department for the last academic year as the interim Chair of Transportation Design.